Gummo's older brother Chico is in a crypt across the hall from them. Gummo and his wife Helen are interred next to each other in the Freedom Mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. Groucho died four months later on August 19, at age 86. His death was never reported to Groucho, who by that time had become so ill and weak that it was thought the news would be a further detriment to his health. Gummo died on April 21, 1977, at his home in Palm Springs, California, aged 84, from a cerebral hemorrhage. He married Helen von Tilzer on March 16, 1929, and they were married until her death in January 1976. Another explanation cited by biographers and family members is that Milton, being the sickliest of the brothers, often wore rubber overshoes, also called "gumshoes," to protect himself from taking sick in inclement weather. Gummo was given his nickname because he had a tendency to be sneaky backstage, and creep up on others without them knowing (like a gumshoe). On October 28, 1919, Marx was granted patent US1320335A. Īround the time he left his brothers' Vaudeville act, Marx applied for a patent for a clothes packing rack. He rarely had contracts with those he represented, his philosophy being that, if they liked his work, they would continue to use him, and if not, they would seek representation elsewhere. Gummo was well respected as a businessman. He also represented other on-screen talent and a number of writers.
After that collaboration ended, Gummo represented his brother Groucho and worked on the television show The Life of Riley, which he helped develop. After his Army career he joined with Zeppo and operated a theatrical agency. Gummo later went into the raincoat business. Gummo's younger brother Zeppo took his place in the group. He wasn't sent overseas because the armistice was signed shortly afterward. Gummo, who in an interview said he never liked being on stage, left the group and joined the military during World War I. The act may have only performed once and was not helped by Shean's deafness or Milton's stammer. Milton was put into a costume with a papier-mâché head and pretended to be a dummy while Henry pretended to work him. Īlthough the fourth Marx Brother in age, he was the first to make his debut, pretending to be a dummy in an act with his uncle Henry Shean (né Heinemann Schoenberg) in 1899. His mother was from Dornum in East Frisia, and his father was a native of Alsace and worked as a tailor. His parents were Sam Marx (called "Frenchie" throughout his life), and his wife, Minnie Schoenberg Marx. Marx was born in Manhattan, New York City, on October 23, 1892.